


Take It Off Now, Boy (I Wanna See Inside)

by howtosingit



Series: 30 Days of Tarlos/30 Songs of Tarlos [4]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Boys In Love, Couch Cuddles, Dating, Falling In Love, Fluff, Love, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howtosingit/pseuds/howtosingit
Summary: “I'll hold your hand and then we'll jump right out / we'll be falling, falling / but that's okay / cause I'll be right here”*Since the day they met, TK has done everything he can to keep Carlos from seeing too much of himself, intent on keeping a distance; when he finally lets him in, it changes everything.30 Days of Tarlos/30 Songs of Tarlos - Day 4: “Beneath Your Beautiful” by Labrinth (feat. Emeli Sandé)
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: 30 Days of Tarlos/30 Songs of Tarlos [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770025
Comments: 19
Kudos: 201





	Take It Off Now, Boy (I Wanna See Inside)

——————

From the moment they danced together in a loud and crowded honky tonk bar, Carlos Reyes has been drawn towards TK Strand like a moth to a flame. It’s an overused cliché, he knows, but still the most accurate description of their early relationship. Even when TK burns him once, storming out of his apartment while the dinner that he had made for them grew cold on the table before him, and then again, outside of a boba tea house, Carlos can’t help but want to cling tighter to him.

He knows how that sounds—like he doesn’t know how to take a hint—but from day one, he could tell there was more to them than that. Carlos has always loved so openly, a byproduct of growing up in a loud and loving family, and he sensed, from that very first night, that TK was the same. During those first few months, TK only really lets him in a handful of times, but Carlos can tell that those instances seem to shake the wall he’s built around himself. Through those cracks, Carlos sees a light so blinding, a heart so strong and so full, that he just knows that he wants to be a part of TK’s life for as long as he can. 

TK confirms his suspicions on the hood of his Camaro while they gaze up at the strange lights weaving throughout the sky. With Carlos’s hand in his, he tells him how he did everything that he could to keep that wall up, afraid that if he let it fall again, it would bury him completely under the rubble. He tells Carlos that every moment that they have spent together has been filled with some of the deepest fear that he has ever felt. TK tells him that he recognized a light in Carlos that first night, almost like a beacon guiding him home, and it shook him so hard that he didn’t know how to keep from breaking down. 

Carlos turns towards him, wrapping an arm around TK’s waist as they lay on their sides, the sky above forgotten in favor of looking into each other’s eyes. TK assures him that the wall is gone now, that when he was fighting a thousand thoughts and elements at once inside the overturned bus earlier that day, he couldn’t afford to be limited anymore. He tells him that when his dad pulled him out of the wreckage, he left the wall and the fear that helped him build it behind. 

They reintroduce themselves to each other that night with gentle kisses under the brightly lit night sky, and Carlos feels his heart swell with hope.

——

The following two weeks are crazy busy for Carlos; Austin is still reeling from the solar flares, and work is a hellscape of concerned calls from paranoid citizens who have convinced themselves that they are in the middle of an apocalyptic nightmare. Carlos would find it all humorous if the extra hours weren’t keeping him from his bed-ridden boyfriend. He hasn’t seen TK in ten days, and there’s an ache of longing that he just can’t shake.

They text every day, sharing funny online videos and trading wild stories, Carlos describing his calls, and TK sharing his father’s new commitment making sure he doesn’t have to lift a finger for anything, including some harebrained ideas about how he should now be using the bathroom. When they talk on the phone while Carlos drives home from work, he let’s TK rant about how frustrating it is to currently be living with his dad. 

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about your next opportunity for an escape,” Carlos says, wiggling with excitement in his seat as he turns a corner. “I’m off this weekend, and I was wondering if you might like to check out some of my favorite places downtown on Saturday.”

“Yes,” TK agrees immediately, and Carlos laughs. “Please, anything. I get away from my dad for a bit and I get to see you? You could take me skydiving for all I care, Carlos. I don’t care, I’m in.”

“Well, I think we should keep our feet on the ground for now, but I’ll make a note for the future,” Carlos responds.

“I can’t wait,” TK says, his voice growing soft. “I miss you so much. I just want to touch you and hold you and kiss you and see your smile.” 

Carlos sucks in a breath at TK’s honesty, both surprised by it and proud to hear it. It soothes the ache a bit. “Me too. I want all of those things too, Ty.”

By the time Saturday morning rolls around, Carlos can barely sit still. He pulls up to the Strand house a little after eleven to find TK pacing up and down the front steps, staring down at his phone. Carlos feels his heart jump into his throat at the sight. He climbs out of the car, calling out to TK over the blue hood. “Hey there, stud! You waiting for someone?”

TK spins towards him, a smile taking over his entire face as he starts towards Carlos, speeding into a jog as he circles the car to get to him. His hands come up to pull Carlos to him, crashing their lips together in a desperately wonderful kiss. Carlos sways towards him, wrapping his boyfriend in his arms as they part their lips to press closer.

“Hi,” TK breathes out when they pull apart. Carlos can see his beautiful green eyes shining in the sunlight.

“Hey,” he says, sliding his hands to TK’s waist and gently squeezing. “You ready to go?”

“Absolutely,” TK answers, pressing a short kiss to Carlos’s lips as he steps away to walk around the car and climb inside. “I can’t wait to see Carlos Reyes’s Austin,” he continues with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

For the next few hours, they explore some of the best neighborhoods of downtown Austin, with Carlos showing off his favorite shops and restaurants, including his favorite Mexican street food place where they share some ice cream. Carlos will admit that he spends more time licking it off of TK’s lips than actually eating his own, but his justification is that it actually tastes better that way, and TK has no interest in disagreeing with him.

They take a walk around the Greenbelt, hands linked or arms wrapped around each other the entire time, and TK talks about some of his favorite parks in Brooklyn and how much he likes being in a city with so much open space. They stop on the edge of the creek, staring out at the ducks on the water. Some children further down the bank are tossing their leftover lunch into the water to get their attention, and Carlos watches as TK stares at them, a small smile on his face. He pulls his boyfriend closer, hooking his chin over his uninjured shoulder as they take in a well-earned moment of peace.

An hour later, Carlos notices TK starting to fade as they walk along a different street, eyeing the vendors and their handmade products. TK nods when he asks if he’s okay. “I don’t think my body’s used to so much activity, my dad hasn’t let me do anything for two weeks,” he explains.

Carlos frowns in sympathy. “You want to call it a day?” he asks.

TK turns towards him immediately, his eyes wide as he shakes his head. “No way, I want to spend more time with you,” he says. 

Okay,” Carlos says, nodding. He wants to spend more time with TK, too. “What if we went back to my place? We could hang out on the couch, watch a movie?”

TK’s nods enthusiastically, gripping Carlos’s right bicep tightly with both hands. “Yeah, I’d love that.”

When they get to Carlos’s apartment, he lets TK borrow a pair of sweatpants before changing into a pair himself, then they curl up together on the couch, Carlos sitting against the armrest as TK leans back into his chest. They turn on the TV, finding a random movie and letting it play quietly in the background as Carlos runs his fingers through TK’s hair. He hums in contentment, bringing Carlos’s other arm around him and pressing a kiss to his palm.

“This has been my favorite day in Texas,” he shares quietly, but Carlos still catches it since they’re so close. He freezes in place, staring down at his boyfriend as he processes his confession.

Later, Carlos will order them pizza, and they’ll pig out while watching episodes of  _ One Day at a Time _ on Netflix. When night comes, he’ll offer to drive TK home, but he really won’t want to, and TK won’t want him to either. They’ll fall into bed wrapped in each other’s arms. Tomorrow, they’ll wake up under the covers, and TK will turn over in his arms and tell Carlos that he wishes they could just waste the whole day together in bed, and Carlos will tell him that they should. And so they will, spending hours talking and laughing and confessing and kissing and moaning, pausing only to heat up leftovers when their stomachs complain. In between, they’ll share moments of silence, happy to finally have time together that isn’t challenged by an unclimbable wall built of fear.

Much, much later - fourteen months into the future - TK will propose, and he’ll tell Carlos that he knew they were going to be a forever-kind-of-thing after that first weekend together. Carlos, with tears in his eyes as he slides off the couch to join the love of his life where he’s kneeling on the floor, will tell him that that’s when he knew, too. 

But all of that comes later.

For now, Carlos leans down to press a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s neck, holding him close as he whispers his own secret into TK’s skin.

“This has been my favorite day in Texas, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm over on [tumblr](https://howtosingit.tumblr.com/) as well, come say hi!


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